Perspectives on ICV

I study French with International Relations at university in the UK and from February 2009 of my third year of studies, I spent five months as an intern for ICVolunteers in Geneva.

It was an excellent experience and I feel privileged to have worked with so many great people, both in the office and the volunteers we worked with. The office team was very supportive -- âThereâs no such thing as a silly question, but only a silly mistakeâ -- and it was a productive environment to work in. I really enjoyed working with the volunteers -- everyone has a different story and experience to share.

I had the chance to work at many highly interesting conferences involving internationally renowned personalities and was given the responsibility of recruiting and coordinating volunteers for a number of other conferences and events. I also translated and proofread diverse documents and carried out background research on long-term projects.

My last task was my biggest -- I recruited and coordinated 50 volunteers for our ICVolunteers food and beverage stand at la FÃªte de la Musique to raise funds for our long-term projects in environmental education and language learning. The preparations started weeks in advance with budgets, insurance, material and drinks orders, and gradually intensified until the climax of the weekend itself, where I, along with team members and volunteers, worked from 9am to 2am three days in a row. Tiring, but rewarding!